KBNT-CD (channel 17) is a low-power, Class A television station in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California, United States, affiliated with the Spanish-language network Univision. It is owned by

Entravision Communications Entravision Communications Corporation is an American media company based in Santa Monica, California. Entravision primarily caters to the Spanish language in the United States, Spanish-speaking Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanic community ...

alongside

UniMás UniMás (, stylized as ''UNIMÁS'', and originally known as TeleFutura from its launch on January 14, 2002, to January 6, 2013) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television, free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. ...

affiliate KDTF-LD (channel 36); it is also

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to ref ...

to Milenio Televisión affiliate XHDTV-TDT (channel 49). XHDTV-TDT is owned by Mexican-based Televisora Alco, which is 40% owned by Entravision. The three stations share studios on Ruffin Road in San Diego's Kearny Mesa section; KBNT-CD's transmitter is located on Mount Soledad in La Jolla. The station's signal is relayed on low-power KHAX-LD (channel 25) in Vista.

History

KBNT launched on May 19, 1987, as K19BN, owned by Cabrillo Broadcasting Corporation. The station obtained the Univision affiliation from Televisa-owned XEWT in

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

January 1 January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in the Gregorian Calendar; 364 days remain until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the year. __TOC__ Events ...

, 1990. At that time, San Diegans could receive the station only through

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

, because its weak broadcast signal could not reach the city proper. The station increased its transmitting power, boosting its signal. While still not reaching San Diego proper, it could be picked up in Escondido, San Marcos, Vista and Fallbrook. On October 29, 1987, K49BV in Vista, owned by Vista Television, was launched. It was formerly a repeater of the Trinity Broadcasting Network. In 1995, its call sign was changed to KHAX-LP. On December 23, 1994, K19BN reached an agreement with NBC affiliate KNSD (channel 39) to retransmit its programs on KBNT-LP (channel 62, later KNSD-LP in 1997) in La Jolla. K19BN became KBNT-LP on August 22, 1997. That same year, ownership switched from Cabrillo to Entravision. On June 28, 2000, major changes took place at Univision San Diego. The Univision affiliation switched from channel 19 (closed in 2001) to channel 17 (obtaining the KBNT-LP callsign and bought by Entravision), allowing Univision to reach San Diego, National City and Chula Vista over the air. This allowed then- WB affiliate (now Fox affiliate) KSWB-TV (channel 69) to operate on digital channel 19. The new KBNT-LP added KHAX-LP as its relay station, extending its coverage to the north. In 2002, KBNT-LP upgraded to Class A status, becoming KBNT-CA. KHAX-LP was sold to Entravision at the same time. The station's relay in La Jolla, KNSD-LP (channel 62), was shut down in 2007. That signal was leased to Entravision by KNSD owners Station Venture Operations, L.P. (operated as a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

between

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and Trade name, doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Show business, entertainment conglomerate (comp ...

and

LIN Media LIN Media was an American holding company founded in 1994 that operated 43 television stations. All except one were affiliates of the six major U.S. television networks. One of the remaining stations was a low-powered weather station in In ...

until LIN dropped out of the venture in February 2013). In the fall of 2008, KBNT-CD expanded again to a three-repeater operation, when KTCD-LP (channel 46) switched from repeating Azteca América–affiliated sister station XHAS-TV (channel 33) to KBNT. On March 4, 2020, analog channel 49 (KHAX-LP) was shut down and a new digital channel 25 (KHAX-LD) signed on in Vista, California. On August 9, 2021, the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

canceled the license for analog translator KTCD-LP, as the station did not transition to digital operation by the July 13, 2021, deadline.

Newscasts

KBNT-CD broadcasts five hours of local newscasts each week (with one hour each weekday); the station does not produce newscasts on Saturdays or Sundays. The station produces the public affairs program on Sundays at 6 p.m.

Subchannels

The station's signal is multiplexed:

References

External links

* {{Entravision Communications 1989 establishments in California Entravision Communications stations LATV affiliates BNT BNT-CD Roar (TV network) affiliates Television channels and stations established in 1989 BNT-CD Univision affiliates